Is the Premier League the best league in the world?

Following Monday night's 0-0 draw we ask whether the Premier League really still is the best in the world in terms of entertainment.

Tuesday 18th October 2016 / 15:25

Red Monday – or ‘Dead Monday’ as it’s now known; was one of the most highly anticipated Premier League games in recent times. A contest involving two of the league’s giants (with a long-lasting, hate filled rivalry) and two of the most highly rated managers in the world. Not many foresaw the dull encounter which was to follow.

As it became apparent to those watching, this would become a tactical bore-fest with a serious lack of entertaining football and a strong hint of bus parking. Many took to twitter to mock the phrase that has long been associated with the Premier League by some – “The Best League in the World”.

This is supposedly the biggest and most historical game in English football. "Best league in the world" with such a poor standard of quality

Left disappointed by the match itself and doubting the quality of English football, we ran a poll to see how our followers ranked the Premier League, compared to the other Major Leagues in Europe/The World. The results were pretty interesting:

This convincing victory only confused the situation further, so we decided to look in more detail at which league should be considered ‘The Best League in the World’. All stats are based on the 16/17 season so far.

The Premier League only wins on one stat in our table and that’s the least amount of 0-0s. Widely considered the most competitive league on the planet, the unpredictable nature of it provides good entertainment year on year. That means betting is far more unpredictable and rewards are far greater with some longer priced matches between teams that can beat anyone on their day.

No club has managed to retain the Premier League title since 2008-09 season and the last campaign saw newly promoted Leicester City win the league, whilst defending champions Chelsea struggled in 10th.

The Spanish top tier hosts the highest standard of football, produced by its top teams. Barcelona and Real Madrid have dominated European/World football for years. With the gap between the better teams in that league and everyone else, there are some very high scoring matches every week, allowing La Liga to come out on top when talking about goals per game.

That has meant bookmakers have become fearful of the top teams in that league, with a lot of short priced matches every weekend. It’s the handicaps or matches lower down the table where some longer odds come into play.

Dominant on the international scene but domestically the Germans are guilty of having somewhat of a monopoly; Bayern have won 9 of the last 15 Bundesliga titles and are the only German side to have won the Champions League in the last 15 years.

Betting on under 2.5 goals and both teams not to score would be most successful in Germany, though all three leagues average higher than 2.5 goals and 50% both teams scoring.

It’s in terms of fans where Germany comes out trumps. The Bundesliga has the best average attendance, arguably the best atmospheres in the world and you’re allowed beer in the grounds (winning).

Conclusion

Ultimately it depends what you deem to be the most important factor: how competitive and unpredictable the league itself is? Or how good the top teams and players in that league are? Both the Premier League and La Liga could be considered superior for the reasons highlighted above.

As lovers of the game and betting, we'd be inclined to say the Premier League nicks it but undoubtedly there will be many who side with Spain.